U.S. patent number 7,567,977 [Application Number 11/386,444] was granted by the patent office on 2009-07-28 for method and system for establishing and using a social network to facilitate people in life issues.
Invention is credited to Emily J. White.
United States Patent |
7,567,977 |
White |
July 28, 2009 |
Method and system for establishing and using a social network to
facilitate people in life issues
Abstract
Embodiments described herein provide numerous applications and
implementations of a social network to facilitate individuals to
resolve various life issues. These issues may include issues that
arise when individuals or families relocate, including logistic
problems, assimilation of family members in a community, and
roommate pairings. As will be described, embodiments described
herein greatly facilitate corporations in relocating their
employees logistically, and also assist employees and their
families with life issues that may determine whether the employees'
relocation will be a success.
Inventors: |
White; Emily J. (Mountain View,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
40887347 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/386,444 |
Filed: |
March 21, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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10934265 |
Sep 2, 2004 |
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60499543 |
Sep 3, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1; 707/999.104;
707/999.01; 707/999.003; 707/999.201; 707/999.102 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
10/10 (20130101); G06Q 30/02 (20130101); G06Q
50/01 (20130101); Y10S 707/99952 (20130101); Y10S
707/99933 (20130101); Y10S 707/99945 (20130101); Y10S
707/99943 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
17/30 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;707/102 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wong; Don
Assistant Examiner: Ho; Binh V
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Shemwell Mahamedi LLP
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application in a continuation in part application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 10/934,265, filed Sep. 2, 2004 entitled
"Method and System for Establishing and Using a Social Network to
Facilitate People in Life Issues" which claims benefit of priority
to Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/499,543, filed Sep.
3, 2003, entitled "System and Method of Managing Essential
Collaborative Activities of the Corporate Relocation Process Pre,
During, and Post Move," and naming Emily J. White as inventor. Both
of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by
reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A computer-implemented method for establishing a social network,
the computer-implemented method being performed by a social
networking service using one or more processors, the method
comprising maintaining a list comprising a plurality of
participants, wherein each participant in the plurality of
participants corresponds to one or more individuals, wherein the
list also includes information associated with at least one of each
participant or the one or more individuals that correspond to each
participant; presenting a user with a plurality of categories from
which the user may make a selection of a category from the
plurality of categories; receiving the selection of the category by
the user; in conjunction with the selection of the category,
receiving an electronic communication from the user for an
unidentified respondent, wherein the electronic communication
contains an inquiry of the user, and wherein the electronic
communication does not identify the user; after receiving the
selection of the category by the user, programmatically selecting,
based at least in part on the selection of the category on the
information associated with at least one of each participant or the
one or more individuals that correspond to each participant, one or
more participants from the list to receive the electronic
communication; sending a second electronic communication that
contains the inquiry to the one or more participants without
identifying the one or more participants to the user; detecting a
communication from a referred party, other than the one or more
participants, as being (i) a recipient of a forwarded communication
that corresponds to the second electronic communication sent to one
of the participants, and (ii) a reply to the inquiry of the
electronic communication from the user, wherein the referred party
is selected by at least one of the one or more participants and not
programmatically selected by the social networking service to
receive the electronic communication, so that the forwarded inquiry
originates from the one or more participants and corresponds to the
inquiry of the user; presenting information about the referred
party to the user without revealing the referred party's identity,
wherein the presented information includes profile information
about the referred party; and enabling the user to select what
further information, if any, the referred party is to receive
regarding at least one of the user or the inquiry.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the user to select
includes enabling the user to determine whether the referred party
is to learn of the user's identity.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the user to select
includes enabling the user to determine whether the referred party
is to handle the inquiry.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information about the
referred party to the user includes presenting profile information
known about the referred party before the user sent the
inquiry.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information about the
referred party to the user includes presenting profile information
entered by the referred party upon receiving an invitation from the
one or more participants.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information about the
referred party to the user includes presenting a proposed response
from the referred party to the user's inquiry.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising revealing the identity
of the referred party upon the user's selection to have the
referred party handle the inquiry.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising revealing the identity
of the referred party upon the user's selection to reveal the
user's own identity.
9. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions
for establishing a social network, wherein the instructions include
instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause
the one or more processors to perform steps comprising maintaining
a list comprising a plurality of participants, wherein each
participant in the plurality of participants corresponds to one or
more individuals, wherein the list also includes information
associated with at least one of each participant or the one or more
individuals that correspond to each participant; presenting a user
with a plurality of categories from which the user may make a
selection of a category from the plurality of categories; receiving
the selection of the category by the user; in conjunction with the
selection of the category, receiving an electronic communication
from the user for an unidentified respondent, wherein the
electronic communication contains an inquiry of the user, and
wherein the electronic communication does not identify the user;
after receiving the selection of the category by the user,
selecting, based at least in part on the selection of the category
on the information associated with at least one of each participant
or the one or more individuals that correspond to each participant,
one or more participants from the list to receive the electronic
communication; sending a second electronic communication that
contains the inquiry to the one or more participants; detecting a
communication from a referred party, other than the one or more
participants, as being (i) a recipient of a forwarded communication
that corresponds to the second electronic communication sent to one
of the participants, and (ii) a reply to the inquiry of the
electronic communication from the user, wherein the referred party
is selected by at least one of the one or more participants and not
programmatically selected by the social networking service to
receive the electronic communication, so that the forwarded inquiry
originates from the one or more participants and corresponds to the
inquiry of the user; and presenting information about the referred
party to the user without revealing at least one of the referred
party's identity or contact information, wherein the presented
information includes profile information about the referred party;
and enabling the user to select what further information, if any,
the referred party is to receive regarding at least one of the user
or the inquiry.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of enabling the user to determine whether the
referred party is to learn of the user's identity.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of enabling the user to determine whether the
referred party is to handle the inquiry.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of presenting profile information known about
the referred party before the user sent the inquiry.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of presenting profile information entered by
the referred party upon receiving an invitation from the one or
more participants.
14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of presenting a proposed response from the
referred party to the user's inquiry.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of presenting the information without revealing
the referred party's identity.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of revealing the identity of the referred party
upon the user's selection to have the referred party handle the
inquiry.
17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising
instructions that when executed, cause the one or more processors
to perform the step of revealing the identity of the referred party
upon the user's selection to reveal the user's own identity.
18. A computer-implemented method for establishing a social network
service, the computer-implemented method being performed by a
social networking service using one or more processors, the method
comprising maintaining a list comprising a plurality of
participants, wherein each participant in the plurality of
participants corresponds to one or more individuals, wherein the
list also includes information associated with at least one of each
participant or the one or more individuals that correspond to each
participant; presenting a user with a plurality of categories from
which the user may make a selection of a category from the
plurality of categories; receiving the selection of the category by
the user; in conjunction with the selection of the category,
receiving an electronic communication from the user for an
unidentified respondent, wherein the electronic communication
contains an inquiry of the user, and wherein the electronic
communication does not identify the user; after receiving the
selection of the category by the user, programmatically selecting,
based at least in part on the selection of the category on the
information associated with at least one of each participant or the
one or more individuals that correspond to each participant, one or
more participants from the list to receive the electronic
communication; sending a corresponding electronic communication
that includes the inquiry to the one or more participants without
identifying the one or more participants to the user; detecting a
communication from a referred party, other than the one or more
participants, as being (i) a recipient of a forwarded communication
that corresponds to the corresponding electronic communication sent
to one of the participants, and (ii) a reply to the inquiry of the
electronic communication from the user, wherein the referred party
is selected by at least one of the one or more participants and not
programmatically selected by the social networking service to
receive the electronic communication, so that the forwarded inquiry
originates from the one or more participants and corresponds to the
inquiry of the user; and presenting information about the referred
party to the user without revealing at least one of the referred
party's identity or contact information, wherein the presented
information includes profile information about the referred party;
and enabling the user and the referred party to exchange electronic
communications.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to the field of social
networking. In particular, the disclosed embodiments relate to a
system and method for establishing and using a social network to
facilitate people in life issues.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depiction of a system that incorporates a
social network service, under an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates components of a social network service, under an
embodiment.
FIG. 3 illustrates a method that illustrates an implementation of a
social network service, such as described in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 4 illustrates a method that illustrates another implementation
of a social network service, under an embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 5A illustrates yet another method in which issue resolvers are
provided as part of a social network, and the performance of the
issue resolvers is tracked.
FIG. 5B illustrates a method in which a user is able to select an
issue resolver from the social network and the issue resolver is
able to invite other issue resolvers into the users social
network.
FIGS. 6A-6E illustrates different user-interfaces for use with
embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates a method for pairing roommates using a social
network service, under an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Overview
Embodiments described herein provide numerous applications and
implementations of a social network to facilitate individuals to
resolve various life issues. These issues may include problems and
concerns that arise when individuals or families travel or
relocate. These issues include logistic problems, problems arising
with assimilating family members in a community, and, in certain
context, roommate pairings. As will be described, embodiments
described herein greatly facilitate corporations in relocating
their employees logistically, and also assist employees and their
families with life issues that may determine whether the employees'
relocation will be a success.
In an embodiment, a social network may be established and used to
assist individuals in having issues resolved at a particular
geographic location, particularly one that is unfamiliar to them
(such as in the case where they are moving to a new city).
According to one embodiment, a list is maintained of participants
who can assist in resolving issues at the particular geographic
location. The participants may correspond to individuals,
organizations, or groups. The user may be presented with a
plurality of categories from which the user may make a selection.
The user may make a category selection and enter an inquiry (such
as one pertaining to a problem the individual is having). A message
is generated and sent to a service that corresponds to the user's
category and issue. The message may omit a specific recipient for
the inquiry. After receiving the selection of the category and
receiving the inquiry, the service selects a recipient/participant
for the user. The inquiry of the user is then sent to that
participant. Subsequently, the user and the recipient/participant
are enabled to communicate with one another.
Other variations to an embodiment such as described are possible.
In one embodiment, in response to receiving the user's category
selection and inquiry, the user is provided a plurality of
biographies of possible issue resolvers who may be able to assist
the user in his issue. The selection of possible issue resolvers
may be based on one or more of the category selection or attribute
or characteristic of the inquiry (e.g. key word), or other
information provided by the user (e.g. geographic information). For
example, a user may make a selection of a geography and of a
category of issues, using menus.
Still further, another embodiment maintains a list of
individuals/recipients who are assigned to resolve issues falling
under a particular category. The designation of an individual or
recipient to a category may be set, so that a user's subsequent
category selection determines who the recipient of the user's
inquiry will be. The inquiry may then be sent to the recipient
designated for the inquiry's category selection. The performance of
the recipient to resolving the issue presented in the inquiry is
then monitored or tracked.
One or more embodiments described herein may be implemented through
the use of modules. A module refers to a program, a subroutine, a
portion of a program, a software component, firmware or a hardware
component capable of performing a stated task or function. A module
can exist on a hardware component such as a server independently of
other modules, or a module can exist with other modules on the same
server or client terminal, or within the same program. A module may
be implemented on a client or on a server, or distributed between
clients, servers, or amongst a client-server.
Furthermore, one or more embodiments described herein may be
implemented through the use of instructions that are executable by
one or more processors. These instructions may be carried on a
computer-readable medium. Services and components illustrated by
figures in this application provide examples of processing
resources and computer-readable mediums on which instructions for
implementing embodiments of the invention can be carried and/or
executed. In particular, the numerous machines shown with
embodiments of the invention include processor(s) and various forms
of memory for holing data and instructions. Examples of
computer-readable mediums include permanent memory storage devices,
such as hard drives on personal computers or servers. Other
examples of computer storage mediums include portable storage
units, such as CD or DVD units, flash memory (such as carried on
many cell phones and PDAs), and magnetic memory. A
computer-readable medium as used herein may extend across multiple
machines. For example, the medium may be distributed between client
and server in order to perform a stated task or operation.
System Overview and Methodology
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depiction of a system that incorporates a
social network service 110, under an embodiment of the invention.
The social network service 110 may be provided by one or more
modules or applications that execute on servers or other networked
computers that are available to terminals. At one stage, the
service 110 receives inquiries from users who inquire about a
particular matter or issue. At another stage, the service 110 has
available to it participants at various geographic locations. The
participants may include individuals, groups that require
participation from individuals (e.g. clubs, companies) and other
organizations or charters (e.g. Chambers of Commerce) that people
may belong to, are employed by, volunteer for, or are somehow
associated with on a professional, quasi-professional, or personal
level. Users may submit inquiries to the service 110, including
issues that need to be resolved or inquiries for information on a
particular topic. The service 110 may select which participants are
best suited to respond to that inquiry.
In an embodiment, a user 102 may operate a terminal 112 to submit
an inquiry 108 to the service 110. The inquiry 108 may be blind, in
that it is not addressed to or for an identified individual or
participant. For example, the inquiry 108 may be a web-based
message (e.g. email or web form) to an unidentified person. In one
embodiment, the inquiry 108 (i) may be a question, (ii) request for
assistance about a particular topic, or (iii) request for whom the
user 102 can contact regarding a topic or issue. Communications
between the user 102/terminal 112 and the service 110, between the
participants and the service 110, and/or between the user and the
participants, may be conducted over a data network, which may
include Internet (or a Local Area Network), public switched
telephone system, and/or cellular data networks.
The service 110 may be equipped with data and intelligence in order
to be able to select participants who are most pertinent or best
capable of handling the inquiry 108. The service 110 may make a
selection of participants on behalf of user 102. In an embodiment
such as shown by FIG. 1, four sets of participants are shown. An
organization 122 is shown having, as associates or subscribers,
numerous individuals 123. An example of an organization is a
chamber of commerce, with individuals who work for or owning
businesses being participants of the organization. Another example
of an organization is an entity that has associated individuals as
employees. Other participants shown in the example of FIG. 1
include a first individual 124, a group 126 (such as a club) having
individual members 127, and a second individual 128. The
participants may reside at different locations. In the example
shown, organization 122 and first individual 124 reside at location
132 (L1), while group 126 resides at location 134 (L2) and second
individual 128 resides at location 126 (L3). Each of the locations
132, 134, 136 may correspond to, for example, cities, states, or
countries, although smaller geographic areas are also contemplated
(e.g. city blocks, campus buildings).
In an embodiment, part of the consideration that the service 110
makes in selecting what participants should receive the user
inquiry 108 is based on geography. The user 102 may specify
location with the inquiry, or the service 110 may make a
determination as to what location to select based on other
information. However, an embodiment provides that the user 102 does
not identify who is to receive the communication. Often, the case
is that the user does not know who can respond to this inquiry. The
service 110 may maintain information about numerous participants,
including the participants 122-128 shown, as well as the respective
location of each participant. The service 110 may use the
information provided by the user 102 to narrow or otherwise select
participants to handle the inquiry 108. Other information that may
be maintained by the service 110 includes personal information,
such as biographical information of individuals. The biographical
information may comprise numerous items, including for example:
name, age, education, place of higher-education, career, hobbies,
place of origin, music preferences, expertise and knowledge,
photograph, and audio message. The biographical information may
also contain information that indicates what that individual's
expertise is. This information may be collected for individuals in
the organization 122 or group 126, as well as for the case where
the participants are first individual 124 and second individual
128.
In one implementation, the service 110 selects the participants who
will receive the inquiry based on an indication from the user of a
topic or category of the communication. As shown by another
embodiment, service 110 may display a user-interface that includes
multiple category listings, and the user 102 may select from the
category listings a category. However, the user may use other
mediums to communicate to the service 110 a category or topic
selection pertaining to an issue or problem of concern, including
specifying the category in the inquiry 108. As an alternative or
additional selection criteria, the service 110 may select the
participants who will receive the inquiry 108 based on information
that is maintained about the participants. In one embodiment, the
information maintained includes the locations 132-136 of the
respective participants. Biographic information may also be
maintained. The inquiry 108 from the user may, either by itself or
through other communications, give the basis for the service 110 to
make the selection of participants, and this basis may correspond
to a geography that pertains to the inquiry 108, or a category or
topic of the inquiry. In the example shown by FIG. 1, all the
participants shown are the selected participants, and unselected
participants to handle the user's inquiry 108 are not shown. Other
embodiments may only use participants of a particular class, such
as organization/employer class, group class or individual
class.
The manner in which each participant handles an inquiry may vary
from participant to participant. For organization 122, the inquiry
108 may be received and distributed to its members. The members may
correspond to volunteers, subscribers, or employees. The
organization 122 may also be selective as to which participants
receive the inquiry 108. The same may hold true for group 126.
Participants, or individuals of the participants, may furnish a
response to the inquiry 108 by providing personal information about
themselves. For example, for the case of organization 122
corresponding to a chamber of commerce, an entrepreneurial
individual/member may submit a personal biography 142. Group 126
may correspond to a hobby group or church gathering, and
individuals in that group may be selected by the group to furnish
biographic information about themselves or the church group. The
user may need to set a limit on the number of responses that he or
she will be able to accept.
In an embodiment, the different biographic information is submitted
by the participants selected by the service 108. Not all of the
selected participants may respond. And in the case of organization
122 or group 126, multiple responses may be provided, as multiple
individuals may be associated with the organization/group. The
different responses may be sent back to service 108, which may
compile the responses. In an embodiment where respondents provide
biographies, the service 108 may form a compilation 144 of the
biographies and send the compilation to the terminal 112 of the
user 102. Each response may also include a preliminary answer to
the user's inquiry.
The user 102 may then choose who he or she wishes to use as the
inquiry handler based on the biographic information. For example,
the user may decide which individuals biographic information is
best suited for an issue that the user has, or which individuals
location is most convenient. As another example, there may be the
case where a person has to move to Chicago, and the person is in
need of a medical specialist. The need to find the medical
specialist may be paramount to whether the move is successful. The
user's inquiry 108 may be a request for a referral to such a
specialist in Chicago. The inquiry may be sent out to numerous
locations, including the Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, as well as
a medical organization in California that has as its members
doctors. The responses may include a non-specialist doctor who is
part of the Chamber of Commerce, or a specialist who is not in
Chicago, but in California. Since finding a specialist is of
paramount importance to the user, he may choose to communicate with
the specialist in California, in hopes that he knows other
specialists in Chicago. He may concurrently, or at a later time
communicate with the doctor as well, but he has the choice.
One embodiment provides that the user goes through service 110 to
communicate with the respondents that he chooses. Another
embodiment provides that he goes outside of the service 110. While
an embodiment shown by FIG. 1 shows that the service 110 forwards
the responses to the inquiry 108 to the user, it may also be
possible for the responses to go outside of the service 110.
While an embodiment shown in FIG. 1 describes a process where
service 110 makes a selection of who is to receive the user's
inquiry, other embodiments may provide that no selection is made
on-the-fly. Rather, a designation may be pre-existing as to which
participants are to be forwarded inquiries based on category
selection and/or other selection criteria provided by the user. An
example of how such a variation may be implemented is described
with a method of FIG. 5. Still further, another embodiment may
provide that the user makes the ultimate selection of who the
participants will be. In such an embodiment, the service 110
matches possible participants to the user's category and selection
criteria, and presents choices for the user. No communication is
sent to the participants until after the user has selected from the
choices. The choices may be provided in the form of a listing of
biographical information. An example of such an embodiment is
described with FIG. 4.
As an added feature, service 110 may maintain (i) a history of
previous activities with regard to a particular issue and/or (ii)
biographies of respondents (or even users). Users can research
their issues and see how their issues have been handled in the
past. If biographies of respondents are provided, users may be able
to learn more about potential respondents before posing his issue
to the service 110.
FIG. 2 illustrates components of social network service 110,
according an embodiment. The components include a module 210, a
user-interface (UI) 212 and a database 214 (although other forms of
data storage may be used). The database 214 may be used to store
information about the participants. This information may include
one or more of the following: the location of the respective
participants, the identity of the participant, the type of entity
the participant is, and what topics to consider that participant
for purpose of responding to inquiries. In an embodiment such as
described with FIG. 4, the database 214 may include biographies
completed by the individuals who are the respondents.
In one embodiment, the UI 212 enables the user to enter the inputs
for creating inquiry 108, and these inputs are subsequently
processed by the module 210. In one embodiment, the inputs include
(1) category/topic specification 211 (2) inquiry content 213. The
UI 212 may provide a form, or a template (such as for use with a
messaging application) to enable a person to enter the inputs. The
category specification may correspond to a list of categories, each
of which are selectable. When the category is selected by the user,
the module 210 receives the category as input.
In response to receiving the input through the UI 212, the module
210 selects participants using the information of the database 214.
Then the module 210 sends messages 222 to selected participants,
where the messages may include the inquiry content 213, or content
based on the inquiry content 213. The number of messages sent 222
may be one or more.
In an embodiment, the module 210 may receive the bios 232 from
recipients of messages 222. The module 210 then sends a compilation
242 (or aggregation) of the bios to the user. Additionally, the
module or some other internal/external component may perform a step
of tracking individual participants and/or the user, in order to
see how well the user's problem was resolved.
FIG. 3 illustrates a method that illustrates an implementation of a
social network service, such as described in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Reference to numerals of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is intended to illustrate
suitable components for performing a step of the method.
In step 310, a list is maintained that contains participants and
information about participants. As described in FIG. 1, the
participants are those entities that respond to inquiries from
users, including individuals who belong to or are otherwise a part
of those participants.
In step 320, a user-interface is provided that displays a plurality
of categories in a selectable manner. An example of a
user-interface is provided with FIGS. 6A-6D. The selectable
categories may, for example, be provided in the form of a
combination of icons and pull-down menus. In addition to
categories, there may also be choices for sub-categories. For
example, the user may select "home", then be presented a list of
options such as "packing and moving", "schools" and "elder care".
From those choices, the user may select "packing and moving".
Through the user-interface, the user can select a category and
enter the inquiry. This may involve the user using a mouse or
pointer to select menu items and categories until an appropriate
category is selected. In one embodiment, this causes a message to
be generated on the user's terminal. The user can enter his inquiry
through text (or perhaps voice input), then send the message.
In step 330, the service receives the message, which contains the
category specification and the content of the inquiry.
In step 340, the service selects which participants should be
forwarded the inquiry. This determination may be made based on the
category selected by the user, as well as the information that is
maintained about the participants. For example, the information
about the participants may include an association between
individuals/participant and the category. Other information may
also be used. For example, in the inquiry, the user may also
specify a geographic location, and the selection of the
participants may be based additionally on the geographic locations.
Other information that may be used to select participants include:
feedback or a quality rating of the participant (so that some
participants who would have otherwise matched are not selected in
favor of those participants who do match and have higher ratings),
and key word match between text in the inquiry and information
provided by participants (e.g. biographies).
In step 350, an electronic message is generated to the
participants. The electronic message invites a response to the
inquiry of the user.
In step 360, one or more responses are received, from some or all
of the participants. As mentioned earlier, if the participant is an
organization or group, more than one response may be received. The
response may be in the form of or include biographical information
of an individual. For example, a typical response may include a
biography and an answer or inquiry response from a participant. The
biographical information provides a means by which the user can
learn about an individual who may address the inquiry.
In step 370, the responses (biographies and answers or other
information provided by the participants) are compiled and
forwarded to the user. The user can make his selection of who he
wishes to communicate with based on the biographies.
The following is an example of how an embodiment such as described
in FIGS. 1-3 may be implemented. A person may need to relocate to
Chicago. The person may be in need of a special heart medication.
What the person may need to know is how much the medication will
cost in Chicago, and how readily available the new medication is.
Under an embodiment such as described in FIGS. 1-3, the user may
access service 110, select "medical category" through UI 212, enter
an inquiry "I need to check the availability of my heart medicine
in Chicago, and its price . . . " and then send the message. The
service 110 will receive the message, locate the geographic
information (Chicago) and make a selection of who should receive
the information. In one example, the service 110 may send the
inquiry to the Chamber of Commerce in Chicago. In another example,
the service 110 may send the inquiry to one or more identified
doctors or cardiologists. An embodiment such as described above may
also be implemented in a social network such as described with FIG.
5B.
Method for Presenting Participant Choices to User Before
Participant is Contacted
FIG. 4 illustrates a method that illustrates another implementation
of a social network service, similar to embodiments described in
FIGS. 1 and 2. A method such as described with FIG. 4 may be
implemented as a variation to the embodiments described in FIGS.
1-3. Reference to numerals of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is intended to
illustrate suitable components for performing a step of the
method.
In step 410, biographical information about participants (or
individuals who belong to the participants) is maintained. This
information may be detailed, so that a stranger reviewing the
biographical information can learn about the individual who is the
subject of the biographical information, without having to exchange
communications with that person. The biographical information about
the participants may be stored in the database 214. An individual
may supply his own biographical information for the service 110. In
one example, the service may mandate a form with fields and
mandatory content that the individual or participant must provide
information for. Examples of content that may be included in the
biographical information includes: (i) a picture or photo album,
including one of the person who is the subject of the biography,
(ii) contact information for the person, (iii) information about
the person's profession or expertise, (iv) personal information,
including hobbies.
As with an embodiment such as described in FIG. 2, step 420 may
provide for a user-interface that displays a plurality of
categories in a selectable manner. For example, UI 212 may list
categories and provide other fields for enabling the user to enter
inputs that include selection criteria.
In step 430, category and selection criteria are received from the
user. The selection criteria is information that the user enters to
assist the selection of participants to handle the user's inquiry.
The criteria may be a keyword, subject heading or other
information. The criteria may also correspond to the category
selection. Other examples of selection criteria include geographic
selection. For example, in the context of people relocation, a user
may wish to know about a specific category from people who reside
in the location where the user is moving to.
In step 440, participants are identified based on the category and
selection criteria, and whether or not the respective participants
biographical information includes the category and/or selection
criteria. In an embodiment such as described with FIG. 2, this step
may be performed by module 210, as it accesses information
contained in database 214 using input received from the user
through UI 212.
In step 450, the participants that match the category and selection
criteria are presented to the user. The presentation of the
participants may again be done through the UI 212.
Step 460 provides that a user-selection of one or more participants
is received from the user through a second set of inputs. Given a
set of biographies presented in step 450, the user may, for
example, select one participant (based on the biography). Then in
step 470, the user is enabled to communicate with the selected
participant(s) over an online medium. For example, once the user
makes a selection of which participant the user wishes to
communicate with, the user may submit an inquiry or request for the
participant identified in step 450. The service 110 may handle the
request by forwarding the request to the identified participants.
In such an embodiment, an email address or other contact
information may be shielded from the user. In one variation, it is
also possible to shield the identity of the participant, or the end
person who will be communicating with the user. Specific examples
of communications over an online medium include the following:
email exchange, instant messaging, web blog (e.g. exchange of web
blog URLs), video/audio broadcasts (including over data networks).
It is also contemplated that communications will be possible over
mediums that are not online (e.g. offline, telephone,
in-person).
According to another embodiment, the user may make multiple
selections at different times. For example, the user may store the
biographies, select one for a first communication exchange, and if
the user is not satisfied, select another biography at a later
time. The user may select to have his issue and/or response be held
private by service 110, or published to groups of users as a public
item.
Other examples of how subsequent communications between selected
participants/individuals and the user may be performed include one
or more of the following: chat room, video-conference call,
telephone call (blind) etc.
Method for Resolving Issues
FIG. 5 illustrates another method that illustrates another
implementation of a social network service, similar to embodiments
described in FIGS. 1 and 2. A method such as described with FIG. 5
may be implemented for purpose of resolving a user's issues, and as
a variation to the embodiments described in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Reference to numerals of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is intended to illustrate
suitable components for performing a step of the method.
In step 510, an association between a plurality of issue resolvers
and a plurality of issue categories is maintained. An issue
resolver may correspond to a participant (an individual or other
entity) who is known to be able to handle, and perhaps resolve
issues of a specific nature. Individual issue resolvers may be
associated with issue categories, so that one category selection in
a subsequent step automatically identifies at least one participant
who is known to be able to resolve the issue. The association
between the issue resolvers and the categories may be stored in the
form of data (e.g. metadata) in database 214.
Step 520 provides a user-interface that displays the plurality of
categories. For example, UI 212 may be configured to display a
designated set of categories, each of which have associated with it
at least one participant who is the issue resolver for that
category.
In step 530, the category selection is received from the user. At
or about the same time, an embodiment provides that in step 540, a
message is received from the user containing an explanation of an
issue that falls under the category. In one embodiment, the user
may select a link provided on UI 212, which signals the category
selection to the module 210. The selection of the link also causes
a message body to be opened. The user may then type an issue or
question about the selected category. As another embodiment,
selection of the link may cause a category identification to be
inserted into the message. For example, the category identification
may be provided in the subject line of an email message.
In step 550, the user's message is routed to a
participant/respondent who is designated to resolve issues for the
category selected by the user. For example, service 110 may use
database 214 to determine the association between the category of
the issue and the issue resolver assigned to that category. Thus,
the user may submit an email, for example, to a category heading,
but the recipient of the email is not known to the user.
In step 560, the performance of the particular issue resolver is
tracked. This may entail one or more of the following: (i) timing
how long it takes for the identified issue resolver to get back to
the user, (ii) if subsequent communications are exchanged between
user and issue resolver, timing the responsiveness of the issue
resolver to each user communication, (iii) receiving feedback from
the user on how well the issue resolver resolved the user's issue,
(iv) other objective or subjective criteria for determining the
effectiveness of the issue resolver for the user. Implementing a
tracking step may include time stamping every communication from an
issue resolver, and possibly every communication from the user to
the issue resolver. In one embodiment, a social network service
receives reports from users, and/or generates reports on behalf of
the user. The reports may be stored, and made available to other
users of the service 110 as a mechanism to enable those users to
evaluate the service, how the service resolves issues of a
particular category, and/or how individual participants/resolvers
have performed in the past.
A particular issue contemplated by embodiments of the invention
includes corporate relocation assistance. A typical setting may be
the military, or a corporation where new hires, transferees,
business travelers, college interns, and employees (or prospective
employees) are asked/required to relocate/travel from time-to-time.
Under a current approach, such corporations typically have a human
resource department, or other internal relocation departments who
facilitate the entire arduous process of relocation. But numerous
parties, both inside and outside of the company become involved in
the relocation efforts, usually months before the move begins. When
the person relocating has an issue, an embodiment such as described
with FIG. 5 enables the person to locate the right individual to
have his or her issue resolved using a simple interface. For
example, the user may select a category of "packing and moving" and
write a question regarding an item that was broken by movers. The
exact time the inquiry was sent out may be recorded, and how the
issue is resolved may be monitored as a way for the corporation to
evaluate the moving company. Thus, if an issue is ignored, not
timely answered, or poorly resolved, the company which hires the
moving company will have knowledge of it for future use. The
service 110 has associated a customer service representative of the
moving company to field the inquiries to "packing and moving". The
response is forwarded by the service 110. The reply, and possibly
how well the issue was resolved on behalf of the relocator, is then
tracked through feedback and responsiveness.
The example described above may be extended to family members of
the person relocating. Consider an example of an employee of an
international company who receives a new job assignment requiring
the employee to relocate from Germany to the United States. Studies
have shown that for the relocation to be successful, the spouse and
immediate family of the person being relocated must assimilate or
integrate into a new community. This means a sense of belonging to
a new community, as well as developing relationships in the
community that are essential for the family and the employees. If
this does not occur, most relocations do not survive within the new
location. An embodiment such as described above enables the
assimilation process to begin before the family is ever located by
enabling the spouse and other family members to research and
resolve their issues with other persons/entities who can be of
assistance to them. Requesting assistance from individuals that one
does not know is a way to develop a relationship of trust within a
new area because people are helping transferees and family members
to settle into their new area. In one example, the spouse may have
her own business (e.g. a flower shop) and she may be interested in
learning whether she can continue her business in their new town.
She does not know the laws regarding small businesses, and she has
no contacts in the part of town they will live in. There may be
children in the family, and for example, one child may have a
handicap, such as hearing loss. This child may need a school with a
special teaching program. Housing issues may exist as well. The new
family may not know where to buy a home or what town they will live
in. The initial plan may be to rent a home near the place of work
until the family as a whole becomes more familiar with the area.
There may be added stress in that neither the spouse nor anyone
else in the family speaks English well.
Without any assistance, the spouse or other family member may spend
a great deal of time conducting research through generic sources,
such as the Internet, in an effort to find information about the
resources for resolving the families issues in the move. Under a
traditional approach, the result would be that the family would
receive a list of schools, and names of strangers or phone numbers.
Other issues the family would have would be handled in the same
way-the spouse, for example, would find initial starting points to
having the issues answered, but there would be no assistance, or
guidance, other than other general non-personal assistance. In an
international move, the spouse and family will face the additional
challenges of cultural differences and language barriers.
According to an embodiment, the spouse may be provided access to a
software suit, based on embodiments described with FIGS. 1-5. From
the interface, she may specify a category for individual issues
that the spouse or other family may have regarding the life issues
they all face in making the move. For example, from a list of
categories provided in a menu, she might make one or more
selections that lead her to the category of "schools" or and/or
"local business laws". In either case, after selecting the issue,
she identifies the new location (e.g. town, city, nearest
metropolis, county etc) of the family's relocation. She may use a
text-entry or menu selection to identify the new location, and then
use a message body to ask her question or present her issue. For
example, she may request assistance on business rules for small
business owners under the heading of "local business laws" or she
may ask which schools offer assistance in the area for her child's
particular handicap. For the topic heading of "local business
laws", service 110 may forward her issue to a Chamber of Commerce
in the new city, or even to a specific individual in that
organization who can provide assistance. Her inquiry regarding the
category of "Schools" may go to an agency that handles such
questions for relocators on behalf of the corporation seeking to
relocate their employee. In the latter case, the performance of the
agency may be tracked.
The response that the spouse may receive may be in the form of a
one-to-one personal response. The service 110 may be pre-configured
so that the respondents/participants in a particular location are
individuals who can provide a personalized response and be
available for subsequent communications. If the response requires
information from others who can help, it is possible for the user's
inquiry to be forwarded to others within that organization or
outside of that organization who will also send their bios. The
result is that the spouse, who may be located in Germany, is
networked to individuals who can establish answers to her issues,
assist her relocation on a personal and/or professional level, and
perhaps include the spouse/family in a growing social network of
trusted contacts for the particular location.
As an alternative to an embodiment such as described with FIG. 4,
the service may provide information about potential issue resolvers
that the user may select from. Biographies of individuals may be
stored and associated with specific categories and issues. For
example, individuals may enter their biography or personal
information for use with service 110. When the user presents the
issue to the service 110, the service provides matching biographies
without going outside of the service. Thus, in the example provided
above, the service 110 may provide a list of individuals whom the
service 110 has identified internally as being candidates for
responding to questions about local business laws. The biographies
provide the spouse the ability to see who has the most potential
for responding to her question about running a local floral shop.
For example, she may see another florist in the biography, and she
may use service 110 to establish communications with that
person.
Social Networking Resolution of Issues
However, for whatever reason, a first issue resolver may be a
referral source of the issue. For example, in one situation, the
individual ("Connection 1") that the user has selected may not be
able to solve the problem or answer the question the user has
submitted. In other instances, Connection 1 may see other questions
or issues the user has on their bio which are not related to the
question posed. In either case, Connection 1 may know of others,
either inside or outside of his or her network of contacts
(on-line, personal, friends, family etc.), who may be able to
assist the user with either the original issue. or other issues
that become apparent.
In regard to any of the embodiments described herein, a social
networking system, whether formally and programmatically
established through a service, or information through personal
contacts, may be used to resolve issues and connect one individual
with another for purpose of solving life issues. As such, while an
initial point of contact may yield one person, a social networking
framework may mean that the responder may actually be someone who
knows the initial point of contact (one degree), or someone who
knows the person of one degree (second degree) and so forth. FIG.
5B illustrates a system for establishing and using a social network
in such cases. In FIG. 5B, a social network is established by a
server-side system 510, to which a user 520 (through client
terminal) connects with.
In one implementation, the user 502 submits an inquiry 512 of an
issue resolution nature to the service 510. A direct connection may
be established when the inquiry communication 512 is forwarded to
the resolver. This connection is termed Connection 1 520, and it
represents the issue resolver (which can be a person, agency, or
other entity) and his communication with the service 510. One
typical occurrence is that Connection 1 520 handles a response 514
to the issue resolution. The response 514 may be handled in a
manner described by other embodiments herein. The response 514 is
shown to be to service 510, although it can be direct to the user
502.
There are other cases where Connection 1 520 is not the resolver,
or where Connection 1 520 is a resolver-in-part. In cases such as
this, Connection 1 may seek to add another individual with whom
Connection 1 520 is familiar with and believes is an expert in the
particular field in question. A second individual, Connection 2
530, is invited to join the network by Connection 1 520 by an
invite 516, such as in the form of an email or some other mode of
communication (e.g. announcement, phone call, posted message,
instant message etc). After receiving the invitation 516, one
embodiment provides that Connection 2 530 logs onto the system and
creates a profile 532, or at least provides some sort of
information about himself. The profile 532 is then associated with
the particular issue in question and is stored by a database 525.
The profile 532 is then returned by the service 110 to the user for
the user's consideration. The user 502 then has the option of
choosing whether to allow Connection 2 530 to resolve the issue
(separately or in addition to assistance from Connection 1
520).
In another embodiment, Connection 2 530 is able to see the issue
immediately upon accepting the invitation and creating a profile.
Upon joining the network, Connection 2 530 may issue a response 534
to either the user directly, through the system 110, to Connection
1 520 through the system 110, or directly to Connection 1 who will
then respond to the user either directly or through the system
110.
Still further, in some cases, the user may not want Connection 2
530 to know the particular issue the user has without first reading
Connection 2's profile. An embodiment provides that the service 510
hosts the interaction between the user 502 and the Connection 530
in a manner where (i) user 502 sees the profile 532 of Connection 2
530, but Connection 2 knows nothing about the user; (ii) user 502
learns the identity of Connection 2 in addition to or as an
alternative to learning the profile 532, but the Connection 2 does
not learn any information about the user 502; (iii) either (i) or
(ii), with Connection 2 seeing an anonymous profile of the user
502, and user 502 seeing the profile 532 of Connection 2. One or
more of these implementations enable "blind" connections to be
formed, where the user 502 can know more about the indirect
connection to the contact of the first issue resolver (Connection 1
520). Furthermore, in such cases, when Connection 1 520 invites
Connection 2 530 to join the system, the issue is not immediately
associated with Connection 2 530 until the user has reviewed the
profile and allowed Connection 2 to see the pending issue. After
the user 502 has reviewed the profile the user may allow Connection
2 530 to resolve the issue and see other issues the user has
pending. Connection 2 530 is contacted by the user through the
system with the issue to be resolved, and the database 525,
associates Connection 2 530 with the issue. Just as Connection 1
520 was able to do, Connection 2 530, may in turn invite others
with whom Connection 2 is familiar with to join the network to help
resolve the user's life issue. The cycle may repeat itself again.
In either case Connection 1 520, originally selected by the user is
an integral part in resolving the user's issues.
For example, in addition to the question of running a local floral
shop above, the user has several other issues which need to be
resolved before relocating to a new area. There may be questions on
the user's bio, about where the children will be attending school
if they move into a particular area, and what area has houses for
sale. When Connection 1 520 is contacted regarding the question of
running a floral shop, Connection 1 notices the other pending
questions. Connection 1 520 happens to know the Superintendent of
schools in the area and invites the Superintendent to join the
network. The Superintendent logs onto the system, via the
invitation from Connection 1 520 and creates a profile which is
stored in the database. Depending on user preference, the question
about schools is either immediately forwarded to the Superintendent
for response, or the issue will only be forwarded after the user
has viewed the newly created profile. If the user allows the issue
to be resolved by the Superintendent, the database stores the new
profile and associates the issue with the profile. The
Superintendent of schools contacts either the user or Connection 1
though the system or directly to relay the needed information.
When the Superintendent, now Connection 2 530, has resolved the
users issue, Connection 2 may notice the other issue the user has
pending, the question about houses for sale in the area. Connection
2 may know a trusted real estate broker who can help the user.
Connection 2 then invites the real estate broker, Connection 3 540,
to join the network and the cycle repeats itself, in a manner
provided by one or more embodiments or implementations described
above. As such, one embodiment provides that the user can be in
total control of who the user wants resolving the issues in
question.
With embodiments described above, additional role of service 510 is
to execute processes where communications (e.g. inquiries 512 and
responses 514) are passed between user 502 and Connection 1 520.
The service may also maintain the profiles 532, execute protocols
to maintain the connections in blind form, and perform other
functions such as enable programmatic invitations, and on-line
communication mediums for enabling back and forth communications
such as described.
As mentioned, a social network such as shown by FIG. 5B may be
implemented through use of a centralized network enabled computer
or system of computers, such as a server. Other embodiments may
provide a network such as described to be distributed to multiple
machines. Still further, one or more embodiments may implement a
social network such as described on a peer-to-peer network. In all
these situations, the social network enables contact and
communication amongst people who may not know each other, but know
others (who may know others etc) to indirectly establish the
relationship.
User-Interfaces
FIGS. 6A-6E illustrate suitable interfaces that may be employed
with one or more embodiments of the invention. Interfaces such as
shown in FIGS. 6A-6E may be generated by service 110, either over a
network or through a client application. For example, the UI 212
may generate individual interfaces for purpose of receiving
input.
In FIG. 6A, an interface 610 is presented for a user to (i) select
a category and (ii) input an inquiry. The interface 610 may provide
a list 612 of categories, each selectable through a menu or iconic
feature. The categories presented in the list 612 are examples of
general categories needed for an individual to relocate or move
into a new location. A selected category 614 is illustrated as
being "Multi-Cultural/Church." A text field 616 provides a feature
in which a user may enter his or her inquiry related to the
selected category 614. Once the user has completed his or her
inquiry, she may send the inquiry out through selection of the send
icon 618. One or more genre fields 620 may be provided that provide
more category lists, each including additional categories that are
identified are sorted on some other general topic heading. For
example, a cultural genre may list categories that pertain to
cultural issues for individuals relocating to a new place.
Categories in different genre's may overlap or be personalized. For
example, select categories from different genre's that are
particularly pertinent to a user may be listed in one genre
"Emily's Club".
FIG. 6B illustrates an electronic form 625 for a user to submit a
category-specific inquiry, according to an embodiment. In an
example provided by FIG. 6B, the context of the form is relocation.
The form may be filled out by anyone seeking to relocate to a new
city, for example. The form 625 may include a location field 630
for a user to enter his or her location, a topic field (e.g.
"Schools") for the user to enter the topic or category of his
inquiry, a work location field 634 and a zone field 636 for the
user to enter additional geographic information, a message subject
heading 638 and a text body 640 where the user can enter his
inquiry or issue ("Hello I need a referral to a school that can
assist my 10 year old deaf child.").
FIG. 6C illustrates another interface 645 that is company specific
(e.g. used internally by one company or organization) to resolve
relocation issues by category. A list 650 of categories may be
provided, along with a text area 652 where a person may enter an
issue or raise a question under a selected category. In an example
provided, a recipient may be pre-designated for each category.
Thus, the user's message will be routed to whoever is designated to
receive issues falling under that category.
FIG. 6D illustrates an example of a biography 660 that can be
returned as part of a response. In one embodiment (such as
described with FIG. 3), the biography 660 is returned by the
respondent, possibly along with a response to an issue that the
user had inquired about. In another embodiment such as described in
FIG. 4, the biography 660 is stored in database 214 and returned by
the service 110 when an inquiry includes selection criteria
contained in the biography.
FIG. 6E illustrates additional biographies 670 and 680 for use in
personal activities. The example provided includes biography 670
for a hobbyist (paintball) and a biography 680 for a teenager. In
the latter case, the teenager biography 680 may be stored with
other similar biographies. In a family relocation, a new teenager
into an area may enter his or her biography into the database 214,
and allow others to browse her biography. In turn, she may browse
the biographies of other people in her new location, and use the
biographies to establish new friends. For a teenager relocation
service, biographies of students may be recruited from numerous
schools across the country, in an effort to enable relocating new
students assimilate into their new surroundings. In the examples
provided, the biographies 670 are searchable, and include email
addresses (or IM tags or other contact information) to enable the
individuals behind the biographies to meet one another.
Roommate Pairing
In the context of roommate pairing, a social network application
may be implemented to facilitate good pairings. Roommate pairing
may be done by the potential roommates themselves, such as in the
corporate intern setting where new interns to a given location look
on their own for similarly situated individuals as roommates for a
brief period of time. Roommate pairing may also be done through the
control of an outside body, such as a student housing committee on
a college campus. A method such as described in FIG. 7 may be
applicable to the latter case, where potential roommates may be
able to use a social network system to meet one another, learn
about their respective compatibility, and then influence the
roommate pairing decisions by the outside body. Since determining
student roommate pairings is a primary application of an
embodiment, a method such as described in FIG. 7 is described in
the context of roommate pairings for students.
In step 710, an electronic form may be configured to enable
individual students to create biographies of themselves. The form
may be configurable by either one of the students, the educational
establishment, and the body that makes the final decisions.
Examples of what can be configured on the form include the
information that an establishment or committee requires from the
student. Specific examples include a picture, a major, where the
student is from, what the student wishes to accomplish, a chosen
career, a race or religion, hobbies and musical preferences. In
addition to required fields, there may also be optional fields
(e.g. favorite television show).
Step 720 provides that a compatibility criteria is received from a
given student. This may include one or more criteria that the given
student feels is necessary for a match to be successful. Examples
include musical preference and religion.
In step 730, one or more students who match the criteria of the
given student are then identified. For example, the compatibility
criteria of the given student may be compared against specific
fields in student biographies in order to determine matches for the
given student. To provide a specific example, the given student may
specify religion and musical preference, and other student
biographies are searched for matches to those two criteria.
In step 740, a forum for a given student to communicate with
identified students is enabled. This forum or medium may be, for
example, any one or more of the following: (i) exchange of email
addresses for email communications, (ii) exchange of IM tags to
enable the students to participate in online chat sessions with
each other, and (iii) network addresses corresponding to
individual's web sites or blogs.
Step 750 provides that student pairing selections are received from
the students, including from the given student. Thus, for example,
various student pairing selections may be received from an entire
class of students.
In step 760, the given student is paired with one other student
based at least in part on the student pairing selections in step
750. The case may be that the given student selects a roommate, and
that same roommate selects the given student. Or the given student
may select someone who in turn selects someone else, or the given
student has multiple choices, ranked in a particular order. In
either case, the student pairing selections influence the end
outcome of the roommate pairing decisions.
It should be noted that once students are placed in contact with
one another through a matching of compatibility criteria, a service
such as described in FIGS. 1 and 2 may extend a social network for
the students to the friends and families of those students. For
example, students may insert their biographies in database 214,
their parent information, friends etc. Other students can search
the biographies. Students who are compatible may be able to present
biographical information about their new roommate and their
roommates parents to their own parents. Thus, numerous variations,
implementations and embodiments may be developed by combining a
method such as described in FIG. 7 with embodiments such as
described in FIGS. 1-6.
A system or scheme such as shown by FIG. 5B may be applicable in as
an embodiment in which roommate pairing is performed for students.
For example, according to one embodiment, a student, roommate or
other user may have a question regarding books needed for certain
classes, or what professors students prefer for certain subjects.
The user can search the database for an issue resolver and make a
Connection 1 520. Connection 1 520 through the server 510 can then
respond 532 to the students questions regarding the books or the
professor for a particular subject. Connection 1 520 can also
invite 516 other connections to join the users social network and
who then can respond 532 to the user 502 either directly, through
the original connection 1 520, or through the server 510.
Furthermore, an embodiment may be implemented similar to FIG. 7,
except it enables students (or interns or other individuals who
need contacts in a new community) to pair with one another for
social purposes. For example, individual students may complete
biographies and provide the biographies to the service 110, where
it is maintained in, for example, database 214. Students may submit
compatibility criteria, in which case the profiles of other
students are presented to them. From the profiles presented, the
student may review the biographical information and make further
selections. The service 110 may then enable the student to locate
and communicate with selected individuals who correspond to the
profiles.
CONCLUSION
Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying
drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited
to those precise embodiments. As such, many modifications and
variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art.
Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be
defined by the following claims and their equivalents. Furthermore,
it is contemplated that a particular feature described either
individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other
individually described features, or parts of other embodiments,
even if the other features and embodiments make no mentioned of the
particular feature. This, the absence of describing combinations
should not preclude the inventor from claiming rights to such
combinations.
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